Content Marketing Strategist

Our content generated 340 qualified leads last quarter. Zero paid promotion. Here's the content strategy framework: The Old Approach (That Wasn't Working): - Published 12 blog posts/month - Topics chosen by "what sounds interesting" - Measured: Page views, time on site - Result: Lots of traffic, zero leads We were creating content. Not content marketing. The Strategic Shift: Phase 1: Reverse-Engineer from Revenue Instead of asking "what should we write about?" I asked: - Who are our best customers? - What problems were they searching for when they found us? - What convinced them we understood their world? - What questions did they ask during sales process? Our ICP Analysis: - Title: VP Marketing, Director of Marketing - Company: B2B SaaS, 50-200 employees - Problem: Hired sales team, but leads aren't converting - Search queries: "B2B lead qualification framework," "improve sales and marketing alignment" Phase 2: Content Pillars Built Around ICP Created 4 content pillars (not random topics): Pillar 1: Lead Qualification (their biggest pain) - Target keyword: "B2B lead qualification" - Content: Ultimate guide (5,000 words) - Supporting content: 12 articles - Goal: Rank #1 for qualification searches Pillar 2: Sales & Marketing Alignment (adjacent pain) - Target keyword: "sales and marketing alignment" - Content: Framework + case studies - Supporting content: 8 articles - Goal: Show we understand their org challenges Pillar 3: Conversion Optimization (what they're trying to achieve) - Target keyword: "B2B conversion rate optimization" - Content: Tactical playbooks - Supporting content: 10 articles - Goal: Demonstrate expertise Pillar 4: Marketing Operations (how we actually help) - Target keyword: "marketing operations" - Content: Process guides + templates - Supporting content: 6 articles - Goal: Show our solution Phase 3: The Content Formula Every piece follows this structure: 1. Hook: Share surprising data or contrarian take 2. Framework: Provide actionable methodology 3. Ejemplo : Show real-world application 4. Template: Give downloadable tool (email gate) 5. CTA: "Want help implementing this?" Phase 4: Strategic Distribution Created distribution engine: - Week 1: Publish pillar content on blog - Week 1: LinkedIn post with key takeaway (drive to full article) - Week 1: Email to subscribers - Week 2: Twitter thread with framework - Week 2: LinkedIn article (different angle) - Week 3: Podcast interview discussing topic - Week 4: Guest post on industry site (link back) - Ongoing: Internal linking to pillar content - Ongoing: Repurpose into templates, checklists, videos One pillar piece = 20+ content assets. The Results (6 Months): Traffic: - Organic traffic: +340% (focused on right keywords) - #1 rankings: 8 target keywords - #1-3 rankings: 24 keywords Leads: - Content-driven leads: 340 (up from 40) - Lead quality: 72% qualified (vs 31% before) - Conversion rate: 3.2% (vs 0.7% before) Revenue: - Pipeline generated: $2.1M - Closed-won: $680K - ROI: 34x (my time cost vs revenue) What Made This Work: ✅ Started with customer, not keywords: Searched what they search ✅ Depth over breadth: 4 pillar topics vs 50 random topics ✅ Frameworks over opinions: Gave actionable methodology ✅ Gated value: Templates in exchange for email ✅ Distribution obsession: 1 piece = 20 assets ✅ Measured leads, not traffic: Vanity metrics don't pay bills The Content Formula: Traffic doesn't matter. Rankings don't matter. Engagement doesn't matter. (They're nice, but they're not the goal.) Leads matter. Revenue matters. Content marketing is marketing. If it's not driving business results, it's just content.